Finance & Capital Management

Quick-serve restaurant chain Chipotle has been hit with a lawsuit in which current and former Chipotle employees claim that the company made them work extra hours "off the clock" without paying them, CNN Money reported.   

J. Crew Group’s efforts to pump up sales at its core brand didn’t quite take off in the second quarter.   Total revenues at J.Crew Group decreased 4% to $569.8 million in the second quarter.   Total same-store sales fell 8%, its eight consecutive quarterly decrease, with a 9% decline at the company’s namesake brand and a 3% increase at Madewell.   J. Crew reported a net loss of $8.6 million, compared with $13.6 million a year ago.  

Inland Private Capital Corp. announced the sale of a Mariano’s Fresh Market in Vernon Hills, Illinois, on behalf of one of its 1,000-plus investment programs. Sale price for the seven-acre property and 71,248-sq.-ft. store was $36.4 million.   Mariano’s, a Kroger banner, is Chicagoland’s up-and-coming fresh grocer with some 35 locations in the area. Roundy’s had owned the chain and held the lease at the Vernon Hills location until it was acquired by Kroger last November.  

Though it forecasts a stronger-than-anticipated closure season, Cushman & Wakefield sees average retail rents ending the year 4.6% higher than they were in 2016.   The company’s U.S. Macro Forecast released this week said that consistent demand for space in Class A retail centers is the biggest factor in rental-rate growth. Cushman analysts also predict that 2016 will see a drop in the retail vacancy rate to 5.8% from 6.6% last year — though they see it moving back up to 6% in 2017.  

DSW Inc. on Tuesday posted better-than-expected results for its second quarter and reaffirmed its full-year outlook.    The company also said it expects to see $25 million of annualized savings in 2017 as a result of a restructuring program it launched earlier this year, with about $7 million of the total to be realized this year. The retailer said the savings would result “from organization realignment and improvements in procurement and other business processes.”  

Abercrombie & Fitch Co.’s turnaround was called in to question on Tuesday as the chain posted a wider loss in its second quarter, hurt by a decline in tourist traffic at its flagship locations.     The teen apparel retailer also revealed that it expects to close up to 60 U.S. stores as their leases expire this fiscal year. On its quarterly conference call, company executives said the chain has flexibility to close even more stores, with about half of its U.S. leases expiring by the end of 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Things are looking bleaker for bankrupt Aeropostale.   A bankruptcy court judge on late Monday rejected a request from Aeropostale to blame its bankruptcy on Sycamore Partners and block an offer from the private equity firm.   Sycamore Partners confirmed it submitted a bid for the chain after the judge issued the opinion. The amount of the bid is unknown, but it may have been $150 million, which is how much Aeropostale owes two affiliates of Sycamore, Aero Investors and MGF Sourcing Holdings.

Christopher & Banks Corp.’s loss widened in its second quarter amid soft sales its outlet channel and a temporary shutdown of its e-commerce site.   The company reported a net loss of $3.9 million, or a $0.11 loss per share, compared to a net loss for the prior year period of $0.7 million, or a $0.02 loss per share. Same-store sales decreased 5.8%, compared to a 12.4% decrease in the same period last year.